Wuthering Heights Mostly Trades in Substance for Period Drama Style

What would you do if you had the opportunity to adapt one of the most famous romantic novels in literary history? Well, if you’re Emerald Fennell, it’s not so much to give a true adaptation of the source material and instead make an idealized version of what the book is.

Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, which was initially published in 1847, has stood the test of time as a seminal novel in the romance genre. Over the decades, the book has seen a handful of adaptations, but Emerald Fennell’s version is arguably the most notable yet, and it’s one that is less focused on trying to say something meaningful and more on telling an erotic-coded, doomed love story of two people who just can’t get enough of each other. If you’ve been keeping up with the movie’s press tour, you’d know it looks the part. But that doesn’t mean it gets it all right.

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A Sight To Behold

Set in the Yorkshire moors, Wuthering Heights follows Catherine (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi). When he was a boy, Heathcliff was adopted by Catherine’s dad. Living together since they were kids, Catherine and Heathcliff form a friendship that turns into something more as they get older. But when Catherine marries another man for a myriad of reasons, the two enter an intense, yearning, and forbidden relationship when they reunite years later.

Right from the jump, Wuthering Heights impresses with its technicality. The cinematography, helmed by Linus Sandgren, is stunning, with gorgeous visuals routinely populating the screen. From sweeping wide angles that capture the vastness of the countryside landscape and crimson red skies to stylish interior shots, the movie’s framing, composition, and visuals are a sight to behold, especially when viewed on the biggest screen possible. Charli xcx’s original songs and Anthony Willis’s score add to the film’s scope and grandeur, with musical cues and song drops that help bring out the emotion, romance, and tragedy of it all.

The production design, led by Suzie Davies, and Jacqueline Durran’s over-the-top yet gorgeous costume design are also notable highlights of the film. In particular, the visual design of the Earnshaw estate and Thrushcross Grange makes for a great contrast with the former’s bleak, black design against the latter’s use of bold colors in its rooms. It’s clear that Emerald Fennell had a budget, and she spent it well with striking sets and splendid looks. Wuthering Heights, for the most part, succeeds as a visual spectacle. But while all that style is great to look at, it doesn’t hide how the love story at the center features radical changes that do more harm than good.

Yearning Season

It should be noted that this is not a faithful remake of the novel, hence the quotation marks in the title. And while film adaptations aren’t expected to keep everything from the source material, the movie picks and chooses what to adapt on screen. On one hand, the screenplay features actual lines from the novel as dialogue, but on the other, it forgoes key plot points. Most notably, the movie whitewashes Heathcliff who, in the novel, is stated to have a darker skin tone. Heathcliff’s appearance and the prejudice and othering he received because of it served as one of the key reasons why Catherine couldn’t be with him, as well as shaped his actions in the novel.

The movie tries to address this by having Heathcliff come from a lower class, a plot point that is forgotten halfway through the film. This big change means that it loses a lot of context. In making the story on two white people who fall in and out of love, Wuthering Heights doesn’t offer much in terms of commentary or critique, making for a shallow retelling that could have done a lot more with what it has to say. Gone is the nuance in favor of a more sexual adaptation that tiptoes into fan fiction territory.

As an adaptation,Wuthering Heights leaves us wanting more with the lack of underlying toxicity. But as a movie on its own, there are at least some things to enjoy in this retelling. The film’s first half takes a while to get going, but once the conflict kicks in, that’s when the sparks fly as Catherine and Heathcliff wrestle over their feelings for one another through their physical attraction and the mind games they play.

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi deliver capable performances, with the latter proving that he can make the most out of material based on period movies. Their chemistry is fine, if a bit lacking at times, but they at least bring out the tension and yearning in each other. The ending, in particular, gives both actors room to shine with one emotional gut punch after another. Approached on its own terms, it’s an ok story, but it doesn’t exactly reach the heights of a generational tale of love and lust.

And speaking of lust, the movie isn’t as sexually aggressive as the marketing material may make it seem. While the movie does open with the sounds of a creaking rope that would make one think of something more intimate, the film as a whole doesn’t go over the edge, so to speak. It’s less corset dress-ripping desire and more hidden hookups, passionate kisses, suggestive imagery, and yearning looks. Wuthering Heights has its fair share of steamy moments, many rain scenes included, and gives Catherine and Heathcliff space to satisfy their physical desires to an extent, just don’t expect clothes flying off.

Not the Wuthering Heights You Read in School

For all the discourse that has surrounded Wuthering Heights, the end result feels decidedly ok. Visually, the film knocks it out of the park with its cinematography, production design, and technical quality. But as an adaptation, the movie loses steam, which makes for a story that finds its place without doing more than what is expected. It knows what its core audience wants, but that also means there’s not a lot Wuthering Heights has to say except how horny two people can get and the pitfalls of longing and repressed feelings.

Ultimately, as a movie on its own, Emerald Fennell’s erotic reinvention of the novel may not reach the heights of its lofty ambitions, but there are some joys to be found here. The movie feels like it was made for today’s audience, one in which pop culture staples like A24 films, fan edits, and Bridgerton have helped shape audiences’ tastes. Whether you see that as good or bad is up to you, but in this case, Wuthering Heights gets a half-hearted pass. If you’re coming into this as a fan of the book, this adaptation might not be it. But if you’re just looking for love on the big screen, it’s an ok watch.

Wuthering Heights is showing in cinemas nationwide starting February 11.

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​Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

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Wuthering Heights Mostly Trades in Substance for Period Drama Style
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